Sun Quest: A Story of Apollo's Daughter
by I Fall Downstiars all the Time
Summary: Ellie MacIsaac is a demigod who wants nothing more than an original quest. When the sun stops rising, she leave Camp Half-Blood to find her father Apollo with her best friends Luke Castellan and Lizzie Tren.
1. Chapter 1

I tilted my head, listening in the sunlit woods. The warm sun made me feel like Daddy was on my side, but I couldn't focus on that quite yet; Capture the Flag had only just started. I closed my eyes, feeling my white-blond hair tickle my face. I smiled slightly, opening my sky-blue eyes as I silently knocked an arrow into my bow and crouched behind Zeus' Fist, one eye closed. The other eye stared out with absolute concentration. The newcomer was being quiet and attempting to be sneaky but failing under my watchful ears. I saw a shadowy figure appear in the woods, sprouting a blue plume. I smirked as I saw the two new unclaimed children. I lowered my bow slightly, knowing they weren't worth an arrow. Instead I stood, saying loudly, "Hello, boys!"

The two boys jumped; one of them dropped their sword. The other showed a little bit more grit, gripping his battle axe and lifting his pointed chin in the air, despite the tremors running through his little body. "Relax," I said smoothly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then how come you have a bow and arrow?" the axe boy said, his voice shaking as much as he was. At least he had spoken; the other boy had shrunk behind him, terrified, his eyes huge.

"It's a game, silly. Don't worry about it. Is this your first game?"

They had stopped shaking so violently. The axe-wielder said hesitantly, "Yeah. Why are you talking to us? You're on the red team!"

"I'm a friendly soul," I said conversationally, leaning against Zeus' Fist, still scanning the forest with my eyes.

"Oh," the little boy said awkwardly. I noticed his eyes zero in on something; he elbowed his friend as I heard a twig crack to my left. I readied myself, smiling a little.

"It's nice to know that he's upped his game," I said quietly. I dropped the knocked arrow and pulled out another, shooting it at the feet of the distraction that the blue team had sent. The boys screamed, sounding more like a girl than I had during this game. A figure had run into the clearing right as the arrow hit the dirt and exploded in a flash of light. I scrambled up the rock, almost slipping on the top as my friend and enemy grabbed my skinny ankle. I kicked my foot, knocking it against the pile of rocks; the had withdrew and a voice filled the air as the light began to fade. I had knocked three arrows into my golden bow, a replica of Daddy's, and had them aimed at Luke Castellan's face.

"Fancy seeing you here," I said casually.

"You've upped your game as well," he said with a grin, his sword on the ground and hands in the air. I didn't move. The two little boys were fleeing through the woods when I heard a growl to the left and behind me. I glanced over there, keeping my arrows trained on Luke, who was edging around the rock.

"Chimera," he said softly.

"Would you like some help?"

"No."

"Let's do this."

I whirled around in time to see a chimera emerge from the trees, its eyes glowing yellow, its teeth bared. I crouched and Luke dove from behind Zeus' Fist, his sword now in hand. "Plan number four?" I asked, my eyes on the beast.

"You bet."

I shot the three arrows at the chimera's eyes. One arrow hit, but the beast flinched, jerking its head to the left. If it had jerked to the right, I would've hit its left eye on the dot; the chimera had oddly flinched in the opposite direction of most, which made my second arrow lodge into its nose. The third arrow, however, hit its target of in the beast's mouth as it roared. Luke then charged forward, slicing at its legs and paws. I distracted it with my arrows and occasionally jabbed with the sides of my bow, which I had, had a son of Hephaestus – Charles Beckendorf, since he was the best – weld the ends of daggers. I had cut his hind leg open, and the chimera glared at me. He opened its mouth to breathe the fire of Hades at me when Luke snuck up behind it and cut the monster's throat. Its dying roar echoed in the forest of Camp Half-Blood. I winced, and the chimera swiped it paws feebly one last time. Luke, who had been standing over the monster as it died, had his arm ripped open by the beast's deadly claws. He cursed and kicked the chimera as it dissolved into a gold and red dust.

I stood panting for a moment, sure that I had been about to be fried, when Luke cursed again; thunder rumbled across the sky. I ran over to Luke; he was bleeding badly. I ran over to a nearby tree and pulled out the red flag and carried it over; Luke was dabbing at his arm, wincing.

"So, I guess you are part of the red team," I joked as I tore of a piece of the flag to wrap around Luke's wounds.

"Is that the red team's flag?" Luke asked, eyeing it.

"Don't even think about it, Luke. One little red strip of fabric isn't enough to win the game. And it doesn't really matter if it's bloodstained after this; no one but the Aphrodite girls would ever notice or care that it's bloodstained."

We heard a cheer swell up from the woods woods. "And I think my team just won the game as it is," I said smugly, tying the fabric around him arm neatly. "So it doesn't really matter. Have fun on bathroom duty."

"With this injury? Nah, I can just play up my arm," Luke said with a matching smirk as we walked through the woods. He took off his ridiculous metal helmet and carried it with his good arm.

"We better go find Chiron," I said as the cheering got louder.

"Probably," Luke said. "Don't tell me what to do."

"I'm older than you, little boy!" I protested with a grin. "Respect your elders!"

"You're older than me by about a month, Ellie. I don't have to listen to a word you say."

"I would listen to a daughter of a god of medicine," I said as we stepped into the clearing, where my friend Lizzie was jumping up in down, waving the blue flag triumphantly. "Go Lizzie!" I called. She met my eye and gave me a knowing grin that I ignored.

"Of course," he grumbled. "You get special powers and gifts from _your _dad."

"What are you talking about?" I asked Luke in confusion. Before I could press Luke for any more details, Chiron cantered up.

"What happened?" he asked as the rest of the campers headed back to the main part of camp for the post-Capture the Flag bonfire.

"There was a chimera loose in the woods," I said as Luke held out his arm.

"My dear, is this… Is this part of the red team's flag?"

"There wasn't exactly anything better around, Chiron."

Chiron looked like he was in disapproval, and like he was trying to not laugh. "Well, Luke, let's go to the Big House and get you fixed up. Ellie, you should go to the bonfire and explain why the red team's flag is ripped in two."

"Of course," I grumbled. I gave Luke a look, but he was staring off into the woods, his brow furrowed, ruined by the scar he had received last summer. I sighed heavily, slinging my arrows over my back and kicking a pebble as I walked to the fire pit in the falling night. Luke and I had been best friends up until last year, when he had gotten his quest. And it was a repeated quest, he had complained bitterly to me at the end of August last year. _It's a damn repeated quest, and I didn't even do as well as Hercules. The gods mock me. Me, and everyone else. _

It wasn't true, I thought as I balanced along the rotting log that was halfway submerged in the river, separating the North Woods from the South Woods. The gods did care. Apollo was more like a big brother than a father to me, but he had been there when a griffin gone bad had attacked me when I was eight.And he had been there for me when my mother died. I prayed to him every night. He hadn't abandoned me. But Luke would then talk about all of the unclaimed kids, and the kids who had been claimed but weren't favored. I was lucky, he had always said. Apollo had liked me from the start. Still, that didn't matter… the gods were always there. They were always with us, especially in the darkest of times. I saw Luke's downcast, almost darkened face as he had pointed out that Apollo liked me in my mind's eye. I pushed the thought of his rippling scar out of my mind as I left the woods, walking to the fire that was burning high and proud into the star sprinkled night, thinking of gods and curses and my poor, dead mother.


	2. Chapter 2

My mom died when I was nine.

It was pretty tragic, even amongst the demigods. My mom had just gotten a job at a tanning salon that was paying her extremely well, curtsey of Apollo (who convinced Aphrodite, because a daughter of the Love goddess ran the place) and had lost about fifteen pounds over the summer. We had kept in close contact while I was at camp via Iris messaging, and she had even found a mortal guy who wasn't a complete jerkface and who I sort of liked. Life was pretty swell. She said I wouldn't even need to get a job to help pay the bills at the Barns & Noble in Boston, where I used to live.

Used to.

When I was nine, I had returned to Camp Half-Blood for the second time. Some of my old friends were there, and I met a lot of new people; I met Luke that summer. It had been a great year; I had received a nine year birthday present from Apollo, who had given me a golden bow like his and claimed me all in the same day – it was one heck of a birthday present, although I _had _kind of suspected he was my father. I had gotten help from Luke, Lizzie, and Charles to make my now-famous Light Arrows that blinded people within the vicinity. My bead that year was black, with a gold bow and arrow on it. I wore it proudly as I strode down the green hills of Camp Half-Blood towards the bus, and had stopped short when I saw Apollo sitting in the front of a cherry red convertible, a pair of dark sunglasses on his tan face. He kind of reminded me of Luke, only with a more rounded face and lighter hair. He saw me and took off his sunglasses, and his deep blue eyes stopped me cold.

"Hey, little girl," he said. "Come swing a ride with Daddy back home."

I had been a bit hesitant at first – this was a _god_, after all, and he was my Daddy (that was indeed the moment I began to refer to Apollo as Daddy) – but I got into the car with ease, and some of my favorite songs were playing consecutively on the car's radio. Apollo tore up the road until we were flying southwest, away from Camp Half-Blood and to Boston. When we got in front of my building, it was night; Apollo had stayed in the car while I slowly got out, staring at the black, charred remains of my home. I turned back around, tears in my eyes. Apollo got out of his car and picked me up, putting me back in as we drove across the globe, bringing light to the other side of the world. We stopped in the ruins of ancient Greece, getting out at his temple.

"Your mom… Skylar…" Apollo got a distant look in his eyes. "She was like no other, Elenor."

"People call me Ellie now," I piped up, rubbing my red eyes.

"It suits you," he said. He looked at me seriously. "I know that you'll miss your mom. But I want you to stay at Camp Half-Blood, okay? It'll be a lot safer than with your grandparents." I nodded, not sure how to argue with a god, even if he was Daddy. He looked at me, then set his hand on my head softly.

"You'll be alright. You're strong. And you have awesome friends to support you."

"Okay," I sniffled.

Apollo sighed, and I peeked up at him; he had run a hand through his hair. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little gold necklace in the shape of a sun. "Here," he said, putting it over my neck. The chain shrunk until it fit around me perfectly, lying on my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. "So you know that at least one of your parents are always with you."

I looked up at him, and he was grinning. "Yeah, I'm corny," he said, pushing his sunglasses on his face as he herded me back into his car. "But cheesy and corny stuff sells! Keep that in mind." I could've sworn that he had winked at me from behind his sunglasses, but I couldn't really be sure. All I knew was that I was getting sleepy as the car revved and flew into the starlit sky, a sky much like the one I had just experienced, only there wasn't a fire reaching up to the stars that night six years ago…


	3. Chapter 3

"Wake _up_, Ellie!"

"Go away," I mumbled, turning and making even more of a mess of my sheets, blankets, and pillows that formed the nest of my bunk.

"No! You missed breakfast again, you late sleeper! You're burning daylight!"

"I don't care," I said into my pillow.

Lizzie began pulling pillows off my bed at her own hazard; I was known to bite when I woke up. Sure, I loved the sun and the daytime as much as any of my brothers and sisters, but if you were going to attempt to wake me up, it was at your own peril.

"Get! Up! Get! Up!" Lizzie began to chant. She pulled my comforter off my bunk, and I sprung up; someone had turned on the AC.

"Who the hell made it so cold in here?" I cried, jumping off my bed and yanking open my dresser to find a hoodie.

"It's a scorcher," Lizzie said, wearing shorts, a tank top, and her beaded necklace; she had six beads to my seven. "Even we Apollos say so."

"And who turned up the AC, exactly?" I demanded, throwing stuff back up on my bed before pulling my hair into a ponytail.

"Mallie came in here earlier, looking for Michelle."

"Why can't the Aphrodites stay in their pink cabin and out of ours? I mean, jeez."

"Well, you know how she is…"

"Yeah, yeah. What time is it?" I asked, pulling off my pajamas and changing into a yellow tank and shorts.

"Eleven. I kinda wanted to go for a swim or canoe ride, so get on your swimsuit."

"Do I have a choice?"

"None."

"Good to know."

We had gotten to the sparkling canoe lake. I had a yellow sundress over my white bikini. Lizzie, donning an overlarge black t-shirt over her swimsuit, ran in front of me, always a ball of excitement and joy and energy. She had her ukulele stuffed in her bag that was thrown over her shoulder, spinning and singing poetry about sunshine and laughter and friendship. I shook my head, smiling at her carefree nature. She always reminded me more of Apollo than myself; I was too heavy with burdens, and Lizzie had a pretty good life. I was a tad bit jealous of my half-sister, but she was my best friend; I was mostly just happy for her. We got ourselves a canoe and Lizzie and I went out to the middle of the lake.

"Hey, Ellie?"

"Mmm?"

"I think it's time to talk."

"Huh?" I looked up from my blank notebook. "We've only been here for, like… for what, ten minutes?"

"It's been nearly an hour," Lizzie said, sticking her tongue out at me. "Get your head out of the gutter, Ellie. Talk to me; usually you'd have written like three poems by now. What's going on?"

"Oh, I dunno…" I tapped my lips with the end of my pen absentmindedly. "I had a dream last night."

Lizzie glanced up at me, startled. "From Daddy?"

"No. At least, not that I know of. I don't even remember going to bed last night. Just that I had a dream about the time that… Well, about when my mom died."

Lizzie was silent, plucking away at her ukulele for a moment before responding. "What are we doing here, Ellie?"

"You wanted to go canoeing," I said, slightly annoyed.

"At Camp Half-Blood."

I looked up, startled; Lizzie's thin brown hair blew into her eyes as she looked down at the rippling water, her eyes reflecting a gray-blue depth of the lake. "I feel like we should've gotten out of here already," she said. "I mean, I've been here as long as Luke. You've been here longer. And you're Dad's favorite!" She glanced at me then, her eyes holding something I couldn't decipher for a moment before she looked back at the gentle waves. "I feel like we should've gotten a quest by now, you know? I feel like… Almost like we're being ignored."

"Not you too," I groaned. Lizzie's head snapped up, surprised. "You agree?" she said, sounding almost excited.

"Not in the slightest," I said firmly, and her face fell before she looked back at the water. "Luke's feeling the same way, is all. He…" I glanced up at the sky for a moment; it was blue and clear and stretched on for forever. "He's been cursing the gods."

There was a slight, distant rumble as astonishment took over Lizzie's face. "Oh my gods, really? Jeez. I mean, I just want to _do _something for once. I would never, _ever _curse the gods. Everything we have comes from them!"

"And Luke says that he doesn't have much," I said, doodling on the blank sheet of paper in my lap.

Lizzie snorted. "At least he's been claimed," she scoffed. "Although I don't envy him for having all those unclaimed stuck in Hermes' cabin with him."

"Yeah…" I said, still doodling. I had drawn a little sky, with a cloud covering the sun. That was weird. I blinked, and a cloud passed over the sun in the sky, blocking out the sunlight on the page. I shivered in the sudden cold. "Do you wanna head back?"

"Sounds good to me," Lizzie said, putting her ukulele back into her bag and picking up an oar. We rowed back to camp, the wind whipping our hair as we got back to shore. I shivered, wondering bitterly where the warm had gone as we ran back to our cabin. Lizzie and I entered cabin seven, where we found most of our brothers and sisters. Ian was playing his guitar on his bunk; Otto was messing around on the computer, Chelsea reading old poems… I went to the dressers that were issued to every child of Apollo and got a change of clothes before running out to the bathrooms to change. On my way out, I ran into Mallie, a daughter of Aphrodite who wasn't my favorite person in camp.

"Watch it, spaz!" she snapped, fixing her hair. I rolled my eyes and elbowed her as I ran back to my cabin. Lizzie was sitting on her bunk, still strumming her ukulele.

"Lizzie, I'm going to go see Luke."

She looked up, surprised. "Okay," she said. "Tell him I say hey, 'kay?"

"Sure thing," I said, running out the door. I saw Mallie talking to one of her siblings by the bathroom. She glared at me as I jogged towards the Big House. Argus, the head security guy with an insane amount of eyes, was sitting on the porch. "Hey, Argus," I said. He nodded at me in acknowledgement. "Is Luke still here?" He nodded again, and I opened the door and walked inside. It was well lit and warm, and I smiled briefly before walking to the right behind the staircase where the infirmary was. I saw that Luke was in the room, looking out the window. The scar on his face shined brighter than his blue eyes. "Hey," I said gently.

Luke glanced over at me, and then back out the window. "Hey," he said absentmindedly.

I walked over to him and sat next to his cot. "How have you been?" I asked.

"I've been better."

I looked at him, chewing on a piece of my hair. "Why have you been so distant lately?" I finally asked.

That snapped him out of it; he looked at me, blinking. "What?" he said, confused.

I ducked my head, feeling embarrassed. Luke was like a son of Aphrodite in some ways; it seemed like every girl had a crush on him. "You just… you haven't been yourself lately," I said, drawing circles on the floor with a finger.

"I not too happy with myself, actually," he said. I looked back up at him; Luke was staring out the window, looking like a Greek statue.

"Why not?" I protested. "You're the best swordsman in camp, you've been claimed, everyone loves you–"

"Everyone except our parents," he spat. "The gods mean nothing. They _are _nothing." The sky rumbled.

"Why do you keep saying stuff like that?" I said, standing. "What are you talking about, Luke? We'd be _nothing _without the gods! Literally nothing! We wouldn't exist! So get through this stupid I-hate-my-parents stage and get over yourself, Luke! Zeus is going to smite you where you stand if you keep this up."

"The gods don't do shit," he snarled, glaring at me. I flinched; I had never seen that look in Luke's eyes before. "So open your eyes and stop worshiping them or get out of my sight."

I lifted my chin. "Fine," I said stiffly. I turned my back and stormed out, feeling miserable and confused. I didn't stop until I was on the shore of Long Island Sound. I stopped on the sand, sitting and propping up my knees, looking out into the ocean. Luke was having another one of his stupid mood swings. It seemed like every time he got attacked by a demon or a monster, he got into a dark mood, a mood that would penetrate the world of my own light. I looked up into the cloudy sky. _Daddy, where are you? _

I saw someone running down the sand from the corner of my eye. I lifted my head from my knees and stood, the wind whipping my hair almost painfully. The man walked up to me in a jumpsuit like he did this every day. His salt and pepper hair was untouched by the wind, and he had a grim expression on his face. I was about to ask him if he was lost when he said, "I must speak to Dionysus."

"I don't know where he is," I said, and the man went tearing up the hill. I ran after him. "Who are you?" I called after him. He glanced over his shoulder; I could sense the eyes of half-bloods watching us.

"I am Hermes," he said. "And we are holding an emergency counsel."

I stopped short, but the god kept running. "Why?" I cried after him, but he didn't answer. I glanced up at the sunless sky, fear making my heart go cold. I ran after Hermes towards the Big House with the crowd of campers that had been within earshot, but Argus wasn't letting anyone in. I blew my hair out of my eyes when I saw Luke come out from around the corner of the house. He was running away. I made a split second decision and went after him, wondering what was going on and why Luke was so desperate to get away.


	4. Chapter 4

I chased after my friend as quietly as I could. A few other campers gave me odd looks as they ran away from the Big House as opposed to it; everyone wanted to know why Hermes was seen sprinting through camp. I stealthily followed Luke through the woods, although I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. I had never been able to. I didn't know if it was because I was me and Luke was Luke, or if it was just because Luke was a son of Hermes and therefore knew all about tricks and thievery. As Luke ran deeper into the woods, I realized that I didn't know the area very well. I looked around absentmindedly when I heard a sharp snap beneath my feet. I looked up and saw Luke staring at me from behind a thick tree. Without a word, he turned and, to my surprise, began to walk. I jogged after him until we were walking side by side through the shadows of unknown trees.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around. It was quiet, with an occasional call of a bird, but nothing else.

"I come here to train," Luke said.

"Train?" I noticed that we were approaching a small clearing. Luke stepped over a fallen log; I followed. "Train for what?"

"Against monsters," Luke said, sounding a little surprised. We entered the clearing. I knew that when the sun was shining, it would be warm and beautiful and peaceful; it seemed to me like an odd place to train. But the sun wasn't there, and instead of the paradise it could be, it was dark and cold, with long shadows intertwining in the middle. "I often find monsters here when the sun is away."

I looked around with alarm, my hand automatically touching a belt loop where I kept a small dagger for emergency. "Why don't you just train in the arena with the rest of us?" I asked, glancing around with a more intent eye.

"Because that's not real," Luke said. I looked at him; he was scanning the woods like I had been. "I want to actually train. I want to fight what we're _really _up against. I want to battle monsters and hellhounds and whatever else crops up here. I don't want to just hack the head off of some dummy. This is where the _real _training is."

I remembered things about Luke that had always struck me as odd; bruises after him disappearing between lunch and dinner. Not showing up for group bonfires and having a bandage around his head the next day. Having weird scratches and cuts on his arm and no exclamation. Something else occurred to me. "Why did you bring me here? You knew I was following you, and yet, you came here anyways."

"I didn't know who was following me," Luke admitted. "I just knew that someone was. But I had a pretty good hunch. You're pretty nosy."

"I am not!" I began heatedly, but Luke just smiled a little and my heart squeezed painfully. I remembered why I liked being near Luke. Even if he was a huge pain in the butt sometimes, Luke was funny and smart and kind, even if it was his own way.

"This was kind of a test," Luke said, walking over and sitting on another fallen log. He patted next to him; I walked over and sat down, even though I was a little bit twitchy that my back was to these dark, mysterious woods. "I need someone to train with, in case I'm ever in battle with someone. I knew that someone was following me, and it took me a little while before I actually figured that out. I knew that whoever was tailing me was good, and when I saw it was you…" He looked into my eyes, and I felt lightheaded. "Well, I couldn't think of anyone better to train with."

I felt color rise to my face. "Thank you," I murmured. Luke looked at me curiously for a moment before realization flashed across his face. He looked away, now angry. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He stood, walking towards the middle of the clearing, his movements stiff and jerky. "This is all wrong," he said harshly.

"What is?" I demanded, hurt and confused. I stood. "You just said that you couldn't think of anyone better!"

"Well I have now," Luke threw angrily over his shoulder. I felt like I had been slapped across the face, but I knew who he was talking about.

"Is it another blond? _Darling _little Annabeth?" I sneered, watching Luke freeze in place. "Whatever, Luke. Just… whatever. Go find that little fainthearted snot and take her here and woo her like you do everyone else. How many other girls have you brought here?"

Luke turned around, furious. His scar seemed to dance with madness. "You know _nothing,_" he growled. "Annabeth is ten times the demigod you are. And not nearly as shallow as you."

"So let me guess – you were hoping that that _kid _– and you know that she's a kid, Luke, she's only just thirteen – was following you, so you could train with _her, _and you could train with _her, _and that you two could fight off monsters _together_?" I laughed, feeling sick inside. "Open your eyes, Luke! She's nothing but another girl chasing after you!"

"Not so different from you, Ellie," Luke said with a sneer.

Instead of a slap, it was like Luke had kicked me in the stomach. "But at least _I _could let you go," I snapped. "I'm stronger than her, and you know it. I would be so much better for you." In an instant, I realized what I had said, and I felt like my face could fry eggs with the heat it was giving off. Luke blinked, startled. "I'm sorry," I said. "But… but it is true. Annabeth will follow you around like a lost puppy, but I would be able to stand next to you. Annabeth would follow your lead, but I'd be able to hold my own."

Luke looked at me, his eyes troubled. He sighed heavily, looking into the woods. "I need to ask you something," he said, his voice low.

"Forget it," I said, turning around before I could say something else completely stupid and out of line. "I'm going back. I'm going to go where someone actually wants me to be." I began to walk away, not sure how I would get out of the woods but not really caring.

"Wait!" Luke called me when I was about to leave the clearing. My body stopped, my heart beating wildly. I wanted to go; I wanted to stay. I wanted to run away, but also into his arms. I felt like I was being ripped in two. I had liked Luke since I was eleven years old. A four year crush was a hard thing to turn my back on. I took a breath, desperately trying to steady myself. "Ellie, please," Luke called softly. "Wait. Come back."

I didn't want to. But I found myself turning around and facing those too-blue eyes, eyes so blue that they hurt. Luke walked towards me slowly, his stride almost shy, his eyes hesitant. I didn't move, but I felt like a mouse under the keen eye of an eagle. I wanted to bolt, but I knew that I wouldn't. This meant too much. "Ellie, I'm sorry," Luke said softly. "I know that I'm a pain in the ass. I know that I don't open up easy. But… You care about me. I can tell." I couldn't look away from those eyes, the eyes that reminded me of the sky that my father lit up… "And, believe it or not… I care about you too. I know I have a weird way of showing it, but Ellie… You're the only one I can really talk to. And out of everything I have… You're the only thing I can thank the gods for."

My throat closed up. "What?" I whispered in disbelief. "I… I don't understand."

"Maybe I can clear it up for you," he whispered, and then Luke tilted my chin up and kissed me, and even though Luke had hurt me, and even though there was an emergency counsel among the gods, and even though the sun was gone, all was right with the world.

At least, it was until we left the woods.

A/N: hey guys! Sorry about the lateness of the update, things have been pretty hectic around here with the holidays and whatnot. Bad news: my dad kind of deleated my story off of the computer, so this chapter was lost. good news: i got a laptop (his name is Fabio) and I was able to go in a different direction.

I thank you guys so, so much for reading, and even more so for reviewing. Reviews are so helpful, and if you could leave a little tidbit, that would be great. Special thanks to and SweetYume. This chapter might not go in the direction you want it to go, but I'm the writer, and I do have a few tricks up my new sweater's sleeves.

if you have ideas, or critism, feel free to message me and/or review. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

When Luke and I left the woods, we were holding hands and I was on cloud nine. Luke had a faraway look in his eyes, yet he also looked determined. And strong. And mine, which I loved. We stepped out of his – no, _our. _It belonged to both of us now – clearing and through the south woods in silence. I felt like the sun should've gone out, as if Daddy was blessing our relationship, but no light appeared. Oh well; I was sure he was okay with it. I could help Luke understand what he had instead of what was missing. That being another goal in mind, I stopped. Luke stopped next to me, a question in his eyes. I simply smiled and shook my head before kissing him softly. We broke apart, and Luke smiled, happiness shining out of his eyes. My own elation and joy made me feel like I was going to burst as we walked out of the tree line into camp.

I saw an unclaimed camper running around. He yelped when he saw us and ran forward. "Luke! Luke, you've got to get to the Big House _now!_"

"Why?" Luke asked with no sense of urgency. I leaned on his arm slightly, a gust of wind sending tendrils of my hair into the air.

"Well, not just you," the kid said, and I felt Luke relax. I guessed that he was afraid that Hermes wanted to talk to him, although I don't know why that would be a bad thing. The camper pointed at me. "You, too," he said, sounding a little shy. "Chiron wants all of the cabin's leaders."

"We should go," I said, looking up at Luke. He looked down at me. "No, really?" he said in a sarcastic tone, but his eyes were tender. "Come on." We headed down past the strawberry fields, where satyrs were jumping from plant to plant, looking a bit nervous. I wondered what the Olympian counsel was about. Luke and I walked, still hand in hand, towards the Big House. There were several campers sitting on and around the front porch, a range of emotions from bored to anxious to angry. Many looked surprised as we walked up. Mallie was sitting among the campers, and she narrowed her brown made-up eyes at me. I smiled sweetly at her, and noticed how she dug her manicured fingers into her palms. I couldn't help but give a little laugh at that. Argus was sitting next to the door, watching all the kids with his many eyes. He blinked as he noticed Luke's hand intertwined with mine, but as usual, he said nothing. Luke and I leisurely walked into the Big House. The main room was usually empty, but it now held a large ping-pong table that was surrounded by stools. The leaders of all of the cabins were there; there were no representatives from Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, or Artemis' cabins, seeing as though there were no children of those gods. A girl named Mercy Gardina was from Demeter. She was quiet, with black skin, black hair, and black eyes. Mercy listened acutely and was fairly wise. She was eighteen, and after this summer she was going to start a flower business in New York. Dionysus' son Pollux sat next to Mercy. Charles Beckendorf represented Hephaestus, and a strong seventeen year old named Rocky sat for Ares. Rocky glared around the table with his shiny brown eyes. A skinny girl with an upturned nose named Claire was Athena's representative. She was nineteen and came by when she wasn't in college, such as in summer. A beautiful brunette named Alison was sitting straight with her long legs crossed at the ankles, reminding me of her mother Aphrodite. I sat down next to Claire for Apollo's spot, Luke across from me as Hermes.

"There you children are," Chiron said, strain evaporating from his voice. He was sitting in his wheelchair, a bow sitting in front of him at the head of the table. "We have much to discuss."

"We have _nothing _to discuss," Rocky grumbled. "There is absolutely no reason to be here until Mr. D gets here and tells us what the heck is going on."

"For once, I agree with Rocky," Claire said, smoothing back her curly hair. "Honestly, we can't _do _anything unless we _know _something."

"Do you know any reason why it was called, Chiron?" Luke asked.

"I have a guess, child," Chiron said heavily. "Some more likely than others." I noticed him glance out a window and I got chills up my spine. He looked at me with his ancient eyes and I had to stop myself from shivering.

"Then, again and hopefully for the last time, _why are we here_?" Rocky growled. "What are we going to do, just sit around until Dionysus gets back?"

"You won't have to wait long," a dry voice said, descending from the stairs that led to the attic. He looked serious and grave, which was a change from his normal bored expression. He reached the landing and our silence and the god snapped his fingers. A tray of wine and a large chair appeared next to Chiron. The centaur in disguise cleared his throat. "Oh, fine," Mr. D sighed, snapping his finger again. He sank into the winered armchair as the wine turned into Diet Coke. "We have a serious problem," Mr. D intoned. He snapped his Diet Coke open and took a drink into the intense silence.

"Well? What's going on?" Rocky demanded. Pollux winced.

"You should learn some manners, boy," Mr. D said. "But considering your father is a brute, I'll let it slide. Apollo has gone missing."

Everyone flicked their heads towards me and then burst out in questions for our camp's direction. "Like, he didn't show up to the council, or he was what the council was about?" "Can a god go missing?" "Is that why the sun disappeared?" "How long has he been gone for?" "What the heck are we supposed to do about it?"

"Cease!" Chiron intoned, and the campers fell silent. Chiron turned to Mr. D. "When did you realize this? The sun has still been rising."

"Artemis found a monster flying across the sky with a huge light," Mr. D said shortly. "And the rising sun has been an illusion. We don't know by who, or why. But someone has been impersonating Apollo."

"Well, what are we going to do?" I demanded. "My dad's gone missing! The gods are going to do _something, _right?"

"Artemis is looking for her brother as we speak," Mr. D said, sounding bored. "No doubt he's lounging around somewhere with some mortal and reciting awful poetry. If only I could be doing the same." Mr. D looked at Pollux. "You could use another sibling, I think."

Pollux blushed bright red as Chiron spoke. "But Artemis is indeed looking for Apollo?"

"I said that, didn't I?" Mr. D looked annoyed. "The meeting was a colossal waste of time, in my opinion. An irresponsible god goes missing and all of Olympia panics! Pan has been missing for eons, and no one has made a fuss."

"Pan is a minor god," Mercy said in her soft yet sure voice. "Apollo is extremely important. Besides, whomever was impersonating Apollo has stopped, which means that they know the gods have been alerted. Which means they are afraid."

"Well, yeah. They're messing with the gods here," Claire snorted. "I'd be scared too."

I glanced at Luke, whose face was furrowed in concentration. "What happens if Artemis can't find Apollo?" he asked.

"Then we're going to have another council to see what we'll do," Mr. D said. "Honestly, there's no reason to be so worked up." The god stood and left.

I sat in my seat, feeling horror rising through me. Where was my dad? Even if he was lying on a beach somewhere, he wouldn't be shirking his responsibilities. But I could _feel _the sun's heat today… "Wait," I said suddenly. "It was extra hot today. Do you think that this monster came anywhere near camp, making it seem hotter?"

"It's certainly possible," Chiron said, still clearly worried. "A god has never disappeared before. Apollo is known for his… capricious behavior," Chiron said, and I saw Luke smirk. "but he is a god, after all. Gods don't just disappear."

"Look, I know that Ellie over there probably thinks that this is a huge deal," Rocky said, and I glared daggers at him. "but I really don't think this has much to do with us. So can I get out of here now?"

Chiron nodded. "Ellie, dear, will you please stay?" he asked. I nodded and stood. Luke looked at me, and I faintly smiled at him, feeling sick. He looked worried and concentrated as he left.

"I have a bad feeling in my bones about this, child," Chiron said once the rest had cleared. "I know that Apollo cares for you deeply. Can you try praying to him and getting a response?"

"Of course," I said. "I'm really worried…" I looked out the window into the gray camp. Without the sun, Camp Half-Blood looked like it had been bleached.

"I think… I think you have reason to be," Chiron said heavily. "There is more going on than Dionysus is revealing. I will consult Zeus about it."

"Will you tell me?" I asked desperately, looking back at Chiron. "Please."

Chiron looked out the window I had been staring out of. He was quiet for a long time. "It depends on the importance," he said finally.

"Chiron! You can't just pull one of those!" I protested. "He's my _dad, _and not just my dad, but other people's dad too! You can't leave the children of the sun god in the dark!"

"I'm sorry, child," Chiron said, looking back at me; he did indeed seem apologetic. "But I feel as though informing you of too much will send you in a frenzy. I need to keep my strong campers here, where they will be safe."

"Safety isn't everything, Chiron!" I said angrily. "And I can keep myself under control!"

"Not everything I learn about this will be important," Chiron said carefully.

"That's a lie," I said heatedly. "That's a lie and you know it. I want to know what's happening to Daddy. Please," I said, sounding desperate and hating that my emotions were showing so clearly. "He's all I have left."

Chiron closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, but I knew he was going to give in. "All right," he said. "Although I'll probably regret it," he grumbled.

I threw my arms around him. "Thank you thank you thank you!" I cried with a grin.

Chiron smiled as I backed away. "Go, and tell your siblings, if they don't know already."

"I will," I said, turning and walking out of the Big House.

The crowd of campers was gone; it was replaced by all of the children of Apollo and their worried faces. Luke had been sitting on the porch waiting for me. "Hey," he said, and my eyes were drawn to his handsome face. "What did Chiron say?"

"He's going to keep me informed about what's going on with Apollo," I said, knowing that my siblings were watching me, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Luke's. "He also said that I should talk to my brothers and sisters." I looked into the crowd, and Lizzie's blue-gray eyes were narrowed with intensity, looking at me and how Luke was holding my hand. "I have some explaining to do."

-O-

A/N: hello again! This chapter was kind of tedious to write; at least the first half of it was. I don't want a lot of repeating characters from PJ, because I like creating my own characters; I think stories are made up from the author's characters.

Any predictions for the next chapter? If more than one person gets it right, I'm going to have to throw a wrench in my writing; I don't like being too predictable.

Thanks for reading!

Obviously, I don't own Percy Jackson; I own Ellie and Lizzie and a few other OCs, but really, all of it is Rick Riordan's.


	6. Chapter 6

We were gathered in the Apollo cabin's studio. All of the cabins had their own little features; Daddy had blessed ours with a recording studio in the back. The gold and platinum records gleamed on the walls, and children of Apollo – Elvis, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson – smiled and stared at us. I sat in a plush purple chair next to Ian's cherry red electric guitar. My brothers and sisters sat on the floor, looking at me intently. There were thirteen of us – me, Lizzie, Ian and Otto (they were twins from California), Chelsea (a blond poet from Washington D.C), Sam (a twelve-year-old who had a knack for rhymes), Hazel (a thirteen-year-old who was an aspiring nurse), Sara (a seven-year-old who had been claimed at the beginning of this year), Emerson (we all called him E), Austin (a fourteen year old who had a crush on Annabeth), Angela (an emo drummer from NYC), and Lee (a boy my age who was almost never in the cabin, but usually hanging out with Charles and at the archery). My siblings – my only family left – were staring at me, looking worried and scared and, in Lizzie's case, slightly hostile. They were depending on me. They wanted me to make it okay. I took a deep breath and said, "Daddy's gone missing."

"Where is he?" Lee asked, his blue eyes intense.

"Well, he's missing for a reason," Angela snapped. "More importantly, what are we going to do about it?"

"Artemis is looking for him," I said. "If Daddy isn't found in a week, the gods are going to hold another emergency counsel."

"Well, that's helpful," Lizzie said sarcastically from the side of the studio; she was leaning up against the soundproof glass with a frustrated expression. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"What's your problem?" Emerson asked. "Yeah, Dad's missing, but you're acting really weird."

"Forget it," Lizzie grumbled. "Just… forget it. So, auntie Artemis is looking for Dad?" I nodded, trying and failing to catch Lizzie's eye. "Then we don't really have anything we _can _do but wait it out."

"There's more," I said, and my siblings stared at me with intensity that could've stopped a wild hellhound in its tracks. "Some monster was making it seem like the sun was rising still. Artemis saw it when she was turning day to night recently. At least, that's what Mr. D said."

"Wait," Chelsea said slowly, her brown eyes worried. "Hold on. Artemis saw this monster, right?" Everyone looked at me, I nodded, and then they looked back at Chelsea. I had a bizarre feeling that whoever was talking was involved in an intense ping-pong match, and then felt stupid for seeing me and Chelsea playing ping-pong while our dad was missing. "If she saw it, why didn't she kill it?"

Silence overtook the studio. "She's the goddess of the hunt," Hazel said, her voice shaky. "Maybe she wanted to go hunt the monster?"

Ian shook his head. "Aunt Artemis is a lot more serious then Papa," he said. "She would've slain it as soon as she saw it… If she could."

Ian's words reverberated in the studio's silence, bouncing off the fur-lined walls. I saw Ian and Otto exchange looks, doing their twin thing. Hazel bit her fingernails. Angela was staring off in the distance with her bright blue eyes unfocused. "Look," I said, and everyone snapped out of their worried trance. "Mr. D says that Daddy is on a beach somewhere, drink in hand, chatting it up with a pretty mortal. But I don't think that." I took a deep breath. "I think that Daddy's in danger. Has anyone had any weird dreams lately? Anyone at all?"

Little Sara slowly raised her hand in the air. "I had a dream," she said in her small voice.

"What was it about, sweetie?" I asked kindly.

"Well…" Sara rocked back in forth, looking at her toes. "I was at my neighborhood pool, back home in Texas. And it was night. I saw something silver flash across the sky, and there was a really creepy, mean laugh… And a voice said that Artemis was wasting her time. And then the pool water turned black and there were big golden eyes, and a gold hand came out and it tried to grab me, and…" Sara was in tears, and I felt stone cold. "And then I woke up." Sara buried her face in her arms. Hazel scooted closer to the young girl and put her arms around her.

"Right," I said, extremely disturbed. "Has anyone else had any dreams?"

"I've had the same one," Otto said. "Only Ian and I were back home in California, and the eyes came from the ocean. Ian had the same dream as well." Ian nodded in confirmation.

"So have I," Angela said, her dyed eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "But this monster said something else. He said that the 'sun will soon rise again'. I don't understand."

"Chelsea, has the sun ever disappeared in history?" I asked. She shook her head.

"There haven't been any sonnets or poems, but I can research it," she said. "This is really kind of freaky."

"I hear you there, sister," Angela said.

"There's not much that we can do," I said. "But I think we should look into this. I'm going to go talk to a child of Athena and see if anything like this has happened before. They have the most extensive history." I stood from the chair and left the studio, going through the door and past our library of poems on the right side, past the bunks, and out the door to our cabin. I heard the door open and close again, and I turned around; Lizzie was walking towards me.

"What the heck happened?" she demanded.

"Well, Daddy disappeared–" I began, but Lizzie cut me off.

"Not that, you idiot! What happened between you and Luke? Are you guys a thing now? When did this happen and why didn't I know sooner? What the heck, Ellie! Are we best friends or not?"

"You… You're not mad?" I asked.

"Of course I'm _mad!_" Lizzie said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "But I'm mad that you didn't tell me sooner! I mean, jeez! I've always had a thing for Luke, like everyone else, but come _on! _At least he chose someone who isn't a total jerk." I saw a hint of a smile in Lizzie's eyes. "I'm not _jealous. _I'm peeved that you didn't tell me sooner."

I laughed weakly, feeling relief and like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. "You're okay with it?" I asked with a little smile.

"Get that through your thick skull, sis," Lizzie said, a huge grin spilling her oval face. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well, it's pretty recent," I admitted. "Just after Luke escaped from a window in the Big House so he didn't have to confront his dad. Our family has problems," I said in a stage whisper with a wink.

Lizzie laughed out loud, snaking her arm in mine. "No, you think?" she asked. "C'mon, let's go see if there's any history about gods going poof so you can run off to your dear Lukey-poo."

"I feel like he'll kill you if you call him that," I laughed as we headed towards the Athena cabin.

"He'll try, no doubt," Lizzie said. "But I'd like to see him try. I'm faster than he is."

"Sure you are," I agreed easily. I knocked on the door to Athena's cabin. A blond-haired boy poked his head out. I grit my teeth. They were all blond.

"Yo," he said. "What up?"

"Do you guys have any scrolls or info about gods disappearing in the past?" I asked.

"This is about Apollo, right?" the boy asked, walking out of the door a little bit more. I recognized him from the arena, but I was really bad with names.

"Yeah," I admitted. "But it isn't just if Daddy has disappeared in the past. Any of the gods, really."

The kid stared at me. "Did you just call the god of the sun 'Daddy'?" he asked blankly.

"Yes, I did. Get over it," I said. Lizzie shot me a look.

"Do you have anything like that, Malcolm?" she asked, saving me from having to remember his name. _Malcolm. _He was kind of a snot. Then again, I wasn't the most easily impressed girl.

"I can look," Malcolm said. "Come in, but don't touch anything. Roger and Troy are working on a big project and they'll go ballistic if you even go near the table." He entered his cabin and Lizzie and I followed. I had no intention of entering Athena's cabin again – in my eyes, they were just a bunch of know-it-alls who could fight pretty well – so I didn't really look around. I saw Roger and Troy sitting around a large square table with a bunch of little blocks that looked like Legos, a hot glue gun, feathers, popsicle sticks, and other arts and crafts stuff. Both boys looked up at me and Lizzie.

"Malcolm! What are they doing in here?" Roger cried. I smirked at him; I had completely destroyed him in Capture the Flag two weeks ago.

"They need some history reading," Malcolm said.

The other boy – Troy, I assumed – narrowed his eyes at me. "Just stay over there and no one gets hurt," he said. He was a lot more intimidating than Roger, and even kind of cute. Nothing compared to Luke, of course, but I wouldn't mind him and Lizzie getting together. She liked tough boys.

"Chill, Troy. We're not here to ruin your project," Lizzie said, rolling her eyes.

"That's what you said when you broke my clay statue of a Pegasus in Arts and Crafts last week," Troy growled. Roger looked alarmed before glaring at the two of us.

"Look, we're just going to get some history scrolls and we'll be on our merry way," I said. I saw yet another blond child poke their head out from a bunk. She was wearing thick glasses and a curious expression.

"Trying to see if any other god disappeared in the past?" she asked in a slightly nasally voice that grinded at my nerves. I nodded. The girl nodded back and disappeared into her bunk again. Malcolm appeared from the back, where there was a shelf of scrolls that completely took up the wall. He was empty handed.

"Sorry," he said. "There's nothing in here."

"Thanks anyways, Malcolm," Lizzie said. She turned around and I did as well, leaving the cabin.

"Gah!" I said once we were outside. "I can't stand them."

Lizzie smirked. "Does it have anything to do with dear little Annabeth beating you in battle last summer?"

"Please," I sneered. "I kicked her butt the next time, and the time after that. I was going easy on her, she was only a little kid at the time! I can't stand those Athena kids, they're such know it alls. Ugh." Lizzie just shook her head and smiled. "What?" I asked defensively.

"Nothing," she said. Lizzie brightened. "Here comes your beau. Run to him, darling!"

I stuck my tongue out at Lizzie, but excitedly hurried forward and left Lizzie behind when I saw Luke lounging by Hermes' cabin. "Hey," I greeted him, breathless.

He had been brooding again; I recognized his darkened, serious face too well. When he saw me, however, Luke smiled and warmth jumped into his eyes, making me feel like I was melting. "Hey," he said. "What's going on?"

"Well, Chiron said that he'd keep me informed about anything that happened, but other then that, I'm going to have to sit it out," I said.

"Chiron's keeping you informed?" Lizzie asked from behind me. I turned around and Luke wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me towards him. I blinked in surprise, and then laid my head on his chest, tucking my head under his chin. We fit together perfectly. "You shoulda told us that, Ellie. And watch out for PDA, you two," she said with a wink.

"Like anyone's going to tell me off," Luke scoffed. Lizzie smiled in agreement.

"Sorry, Liz," I said. "I kinda forgot."

"Maybe because of that boy wrapped around you like a drape," Lizzie teased. My face heated up.

"And because I thought you were going to kill me!" I protested.

Lizzie tilted her head from side to side, considering. "Fine, that's a viable excuse. Forgiven."

"Why, thank you," I said with a touch of sarcasm. Lizzie grinned.

"I'm going to get to archery practice. Either of you coming? Our whole cabin is supposed to be there, but I'm thinking about half of us will show up."

"She's not going," Luke said firmly.

"'She' can speak for herself," I said, looking up at Luke. He smiled a little at me.

"Are you going?" he asked, sounding a little threatening, his eyes intense.

"…No."

Lizzie laughed. "I'll see you two lovebirds later." She jogged back to our cabin, presumably to get her bow.

I looked back up at Luke, who was smiling. "Come on." He released all of me but one hand and began to walk.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see."

I followed Luke in the bleached camp. Despite the disappearance of my father, I felt whole; Luke was my new sun.

-O-

A/N: this chapter was really fun to write for me. I love Apollo's children, but I am not too fond of Athena's; my prejudice is kind of showing through Ellie. (no offense, Athena children.) Lee (Fletcher) and Austin were both in the Battle of the Labyrinth, but the rest of the characters are mine, particularly Sara. (she's like my little sister.) I'm sorry if the Luke stuff is kind of boring, but I'm a fan of cute.

Please R&R! :D


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